I spent most of the weekend trying to find Baltic birch plywood at the big stores with no luck. Apparently, they have to special order it and I found out that 1/2″ is actually 12 mm, which is a hair smaller and the sheets are 5′ x 5′, not the normal 4′ x 8′ that you get at other suppliers. According to the internet, which is always accurate ;), 5×5 B/BB is the best quality and that’s what I decided to use for the next projects, another storage box and the upper cabinets.

Monday, I called a real lumber yard and they were out of stock. Apparently, Baltic birch is very popular. The sales rep said that they can’t keep enough in stock and I can check with them later this week to see if any came in. He quoted $63.00/sheet! YOW! Can anyone suggest another place that’s cheaper near the Cook County IL area?

So, I cannot do anything at the shop until I can find some of this.

Jan. 22 Update: I was determined to find what I wanted at a good price and called another lumber shop in Chicago that would order the 5 x 5 sheets of Baltic birch for $44.00/sheet! I jumped on it and ordered 4 sheets Monday with the hope that it would arrive before the weekend. Yesterday, John called and said that my wood was in. OH JOY! I can pick it up anytime. YAY! I’m going Friday to pick up my wood!